Speaking aperture fixture



May 17, 1932. 1. H. WISE SPEAKING APERTURE FIXTURE Filed Feb. 27. 1931 Patented May 17, 1932 NETE@ STATES JULIUS WISE, F ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI Y srnnxrne- APERTURE FIXTURE Application led February 27, 1931. Serial No.V 518,738.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in speaking aperture fixtures for banks and other establishments handling large sums of money and other valuables. Where these establishments have the tellers or cashiers cage or enclosure separated from the lobby or customers side by a wall partition formed of bullet-proof material, such as non-shatterable glass, it is necessary to have an aperture therein to permit the parties to carry on conversation when so desired. Unless such aperture is protected, the precautionary measures taken are valueless since the bandit can insert the gun through such aperture and intimidate the person located within the enclosure.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide a fixture which can be readily attached in an aperture in a wall and which 2@ is provided with an opening or speaking aperture whereby conversation can loe-carried on in ordinary tones between-two persons standing on opposite sides ofthe wall, which aperture is so constructed as to prevent insertionfof the barrel of a gun thereinto and deflect or stop bullets red thereagainst so that the person located within the enclosure is protected against bodily harm.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a speaking aperture fixture of the class described, the speakingaperture thereof being provided with a plurality of louvre boards or obliquely disposed deflector plates so arranged that a plurality of angularly disposed openings or passages are provided which permit passage of sound waves therethrough in an efficient manner, but which do not allow passage of objects therethrough so that when a bullet is discharged thereagainst it is resisted by said louvre boards.

A'Further objects of the invention are t0y provide a speaking aperture fixture comprising a peripheral flanged member adapted to be secured to the apertured wall and enclose or frame said aperture and which is provided with a plurality of louvre boards or obliquely disposed deflector plates which are carried by said flanged member and are horizontally disposed across said aperture.

Still other objects of the invention are to provide a speaking aperture fixture comprising a pair of flanged members adapted to be secured together and engaging the opposite sides of an apertured partition wall and an intermediate member located within` said .FLP- aperture and clamped in position therein by said flanged plates, said intermediate member having an opening in which is disposed a plurality of obliquely disposed deflector plates or louvre boards which form angular- C? ly disposed passages y adapted to transmit sound Waves from one side of the partition wall to the other but which passages are so arranged as to stop bullets fired against, said fixture. 1

With theseandother objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying draw- 'm ings, in which- Figure l is a front elevational view of my fixture showing it attached to a glass partition. Y

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of same.

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical cross section taken on line 3-3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal cross section taken on line 4 -4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical cross section taken on line 5 5 of Figure 3 and looking in the direction indicated by arrows.

Referring bv reference characters to the accompanying drawings, A indicates a bulletproof partition havingan opening B which connects the customer or outer side C of the wall with the enclosure or inner side D. This wall A is preferably formed from non-shat-` terablel glass which is bullet-resistant and protects the person, such as the bank teller located within the enclosure, against attacks by bandits located on the outside or customer side of the wall.

In order to preserve the safety factor and at the same time permit conversation to be. carried on in ordinary tones between the person located within the enclosure and a customer located at the outer side C of the partition A, the latter has its opening B provided with a speaking aperture fixture 10. This is so constructed that a revolver cannot be thrust therethrough and bullets fired thereagainst cannot pass through into the enclosure. As shown in the drawings, this fixture consists of an outer or frame member 11, an inner or frame member 127 and an intermediate member 14. The outer member 11 consists of a frame or flange 15 which fits against the outer face C of wall A and frames the opening B.

The central opening 16 ,formed by said flanged member is of substantially smaller dimensions than said aperture B and of comparatively same general shape. A gasket 17 of felt or corlr is interposed 'between the opposed faces of flange member 15 and wall A so as to form a proper seal therebetween.

The inner end 12 consists of a flanged member 18 which fits against the inner face D of said wall A and has a central opening 19 substantially of same size and shape as the opening 16 of member 15. A gasket 20 of fel-tor cork is arranged between the opposed faces of member 18 and wall A to form a suitable packing therebetween. Member 18 is provided with a plurality of obliquely disposed deflector plates or louvre boards 21 which extend across the opening 19 and arepreferably formed integral with said member 18. The purpose of these plates will be described more fully hereinafter.

Flange 18 has a plurality of spaced apertures .22 for receiving screws 24. The heads of said screws engage the outer face of said flange member and the threaded ends of said screws are screw-seated in the threaded bores 25 formed in lugs 26. These are formed i-ntegral with flanged member 15 and extend inwardly through the aperture B toward flange 18.. Thus by tightening said screws the outer and inner members 15 and 18, respectively, are drawn together and are clamped against wall A thereby securing` said fixture in position. As the heads of screws 24 are located on the inner side of the fixture, the latter can be detached from position in the wall only by persons havingaccessto the enclosure and said fixture cannot be removed from the outer or customer side of said wall.

The intermediate member 14 consists of two sections 27 and 28, separable along a vertical plane ldisposed centrally of and parallel with said flanges 15 and 18. Section'27 is disposed adjacent to flange 15 and consists of an annular member or band 29 and a plurality of louvre boards or obliquely disposed deflector plates 30 which extend across the opening formed by said flanged member 27 Section 28 is arranged adjacent to flanged member 18 and consists of an annular member or band 31 and a plurality of louvre boards or obliquely disposed spaced deflector plates 32 which also extend across the opening formed by the flange 28. Each of the flanged members 27 and 28 is of the general shape as aperture B and is provided with a plurality of spaced outwardly presented concave seats 84 which are horizontally disposed on the peripheral faces thereof in accordance with the location of lugs 26 and are adapted to engage the latter and be supported thereby when the fixture is assembled (see Fig. 5) As the inner edges of flanges 15 and 18 extend inwardly beyond annular flanges 27 and 28, the latter are held against lateral movement by said flanges and are thus secured in position so that said flanges 27 and 28 can be removed only by detaching flanged member 18.

The lugs 26 serve to center the outer flange member 15 in the aperture B and they also serve `to properly locate and support the flanged members 27 and 28 and the whole structure is held in position in said opening by flanged member 18.

The louvre boards or deflector plates 30 of member 27 are horizontally disposed and are formed integral with said annular member 29. rThey are arranged at an angle of about forty-five degrees and are of sufficient thickness to resist a bullet when fired thereagainst. These plates are spaced suitable distance from each other so as to provide angularly disposed passages which are not sufficiently wide to permit an average-sized bullet to pass therethrough. As shown, the outermost corners of said plates do not project beyond the planes of the faces of said flanged member 27.

The plates disposed in the lower half of the opening formed by flanged member 27 are inclined inwardly and upwardly as indicated by 80a and the plates disposed in the upper half of' said opening are inclined downwardly and inwardly as indicated at 30?). The central member separating the lower plates 30a from the upper plates 3079 is preferably square in cross section as indicated at 300 in order to preserve the same general arrangement and appearance.

Thus it will be seen that no weapon can be inserted through the passages formed by said plates 80 and that a bullet fired thereagainst will either strike end faces 33a of said plates and be deflected thereby downwardly in the case of the lower plates 30a and upwardly in the case of upper plates 306, or it will strike the side faces 82 and will be deflected outwardly or against the next side face.

The louvre boards or deflector plates 34 of flanged member 28 are similar in shape and arrangement to the louvre boards 30. The lower group 34a is inclined upwardly and inwardly and the upper half 84h is angularly disposed downwardly and inwardly. The central member 340 separating said groups is V-shape in cross section, the arms of said V opening toward member 18.

The plates 34 are disposed at right angles to plates 30 so that the passages formed by the latter terminate in passages formed by plates 34 at right angles to the first passages. This eliminates any possibility of a bullet or shot from a shotgun traveling in a straight line through any of the passages. In order to prevent bullets or shots from being deiiected into the enclosure by faces 35 of plates 34, deflector plates 21 formed in anges 18 are provided. These plates 21 are disposed at right angles to plates 34, the lower group 2lc being inclined downwardly and inwardly and the upper group being inclined. upwardly and inwardly. A central bar 210 square in cross section separates the groups and provides angularly disposed faces aligned with the faces of adjacent plates 2l and of the il-shaped member 340.

The purpose of disposing the upper deflector plates in opposed relation to the plates of the lower half of the device is to permit conversation between persons of diiferent heights in an eificient manner.

Preferably the forwardly disposed plates 30 are arranged horizontally and formed integral with iianged member 29. In order to reinforce said plates and prevent spreading thereof, as when a bullet is fired between two adjacent plates, a vertically disposed rib 36 is formed integral with said plates substantially equi distant from the side walls of member 29, thereby reducing the span of said plates 30. A similarly disposed rib 37 is formed integral with plates 34 and member 81.

Lugs 26 serve to support and space the device in proper position in the opening B and in correlation with the seats 38 they serve to center the intermediate member or sections 27 and 28 in proper relation with respect to the inner and outer members.

My improved speaking aperture fixture 1s highly efficient in performing its intended function, and can be readily attached in position. It is of sturdy construction and provides ample protection against attacks with fire arms, and has its attaching means accessible only from the inner side of the wall so that it cannotI be removed by persons stationed on the outer side. It is of pleasing design and does not detract from the appearance of the wall to which it is attached.

lVhile I have shown and described herein the preferred form of my invention, it is obvious that various changes in the construction and arrangement of parts of my fixture can be made and substituted for those herein shown, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

l. A speaking aperture fixture comprising a body portion having a band, and two juxtaposed rows of obliquely disposed deflector plates, the plates of one row being arranged at L right angles to the plates of the other row whereby the passages formed by one row of plates is intersected by the plates of the other row, and means for securing said body portion within an aperture of a bullet-proof wall. 2. A Vspeaking aperture-fixture comprising a body portion having an annular member fitting within an .opening fo-rmed in a bulletresistantwall, and a plurality of obliquely disposed deflector plates formed integral with said band arranged horizontally therein in spaced overlapping relation, and a pair of flanged members adapted to engage the opposite sides of said body portion for holding the latter securely within said wall opening.

3. A speaking aperture fixture comprising an annular member adapted to fit within an 4opening formed in a bullet resistant wall, a plurality of obliquely disposed deflector plates formed with said annular member and arranged horizontally therein in spaced overlapping relation, the plates of the upper portion of said annular member being inclined in opposed direction with respect to the plates of the lower portion thereof, and a pair of frame members adapted to be placed against the opposite sides of said bullet resistant wall and frame said annular member for securing it within said opening of said bullet resistant wall, said frame members being disengageable from each other from one side only.

1i. A speaking aperture fixture comprising a body portion including a band fitting into an opening formed in a bullet resistant wall and a plurality of obl-iquely disposed deflector plates arranged horizontally in said band in spaced overlapping relation, a pair of flanged members adapted to engage the opposite sides of said body portion and adapted to be clamped against the opposite sides of said wall to hold said body portion in position within the opening thereof, and obliquely disposed deflector plates formed on one of said flanged members and disposed at right angles to the deiiector plates of said body portion so as to intersect the passages formed by said last-mentioned deflector plates.

5. A speaking aperture fixture comprising in combination, a band adapted to fit within an opening formed within a bullet resistant wall, a plurality of transversely disposed oblique deiiector plates, an outer member bearing against one side of said band and having a laterally disposed flange adapted to engage the outer face of said wall, and a member disposed on the inner side of said wall and engageable with said band and with said outer member for securing said band in positi on within said wall opening. l

6. A speaking aperture fixture comprising in combination a band, a plurality of obliquelj/ disposed deflector plates formed integral with and extending horizontally within the opening formed by said band, a pair of fianged members engaging the opposite ends Of said band and adapted to engage and bear against the opposite sides of a bullet-proof wall, and means for securing said anged members together and clamping said band therebetween and secure it Within the opening formed in said Wall.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aix my signature this 24th day of February, 1931. JULIUS H. WISE. 

